Botanical dress alterations and leaf pouding

 

When I visited the Textile festival in Amersfoort last may, I came across a stand with beautiful botanic printed clothes and scarfs. The maker used second hand clothes for the prints and I couldn't resist this warm greyish dress with yellow branches and flowers on it. 

When I bought it I knew I wanted some alterations to make it more wearable for me, let's say 'more my style'. The neckline was too high and to be honest a bit sloppy. And I wanted the dress sleeveless and a little longer. I have a skin condition that is very visible on my legs and I'd rather not show too much leg.

When I returned home, I discovered a small hole where the price tag was inserted. Such a shame. But... i'd already decided to lower the neckline so it wouldn't be visible again afterwards.
I cut out the neckline, including the seam and only replaced the ribbing. That already made a lot of difference! 

Then I took off the sleeves. I serged the edges, folded it inside and topstitched the seam. 

For the elongation of the dress I cut a strip of 20 cm fabric from a white t-shirt. To match the grey of the dress, I died the fabric, tied together with a few spoons of Dylan Smoke Grey. 

And I also wanted a print of some leafs on the fabric, to match the botanical print on the dress. I've done it before, it's in fact very easy. You keep a flower or leaf between 2 layers of fabric and start pounding with a mallet, while making sure it stays in place. 

Here's one of the prints, I used Sweet woodruff that grows in our garden. Not all flowers and leafs give a good print. You just have to try and see what happens. 

Here's how the strip turned out, with prints of Birch leafs, lovage and Sweet woodruff. The quality of the picture isn't ideal, it looks better in real life.

It was really fun to experiment with prints of different leafs! Thanks for reading along and you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com for more details. 

Until next time!

Visible mending with silver patches (and did you know about the Red Dress project?)

 

Hi everyone! A stain on smooth fabric like this, in the chest area, well, let's say is hard to miss. And though lots of mending and upcycling techniques are focused on 'hiding' stains or other issues, I thought it would be nice to try the 'visible' approach. I had just the right thing for it: a set of cute shiny silver patches / spots from Humade. I bought it a few months ago in this cute store in Metz (France) and this just seemed the right project to try it out!

A small job like this was just what I needed since I've been having some trouble with my arm and hand lately (long story, better focus on fun projects:)). The package contained 15 silver patches to choose from, all kinds of sizes, and a piece of parchment paper to iron with. It looks like the paint is still dripping...

It seemed wise to try it out on a spot a little less conspicuous, just in case..., so I started with a sleeve. 

I chose a small spot for the sleeve and cut it out. The fabric lay flat on the ironingboard, parchment paper on top and I kept the iron on it for 15 seconds, with hardly any pressure (no ironing back and forth).

It was very easy to remove the plastic layer and there it was, a beautiful silver spot!

And I didn't stop there... if you want to find out more about the other patches, take a look at my blog Vermaakster for the details! Because I also want to take the opportunity to share something completely different with you: the Red Dress project!

About the Red Dress Project

Last week, I visited the textile festival in Amersfoort (NL) and one of my 'must see' goals was The Red Dress Project by British artist Kirstie Macleod, displayed in the Netherlands for the first time. It's such a special project: more than 360 women from all over the world embroidered on this beautiful dress, from 2007 to 2023. Here are a some pictures I took.

At museum Flehite, Amersfoort NL

Look at the beautiful embroidered details!

The Red Dress is accompanied with a beautiful documentary, showing the women who contributed to it and their stories. The dress has already been exhibited in galeries and musea all over the world, but it's still traveling! So if you're interested, check out the dates and places. For instance, the Red Dress will be displayed in the UK and Australia this summer. Visit reddressembroidery.com if you want to know more about the project!

Hope you enjoyed the visible silver patches (you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com for more patches:)), and appreciated my short report on The Red Dress Project. 

Until next time!

I do! (want this peplum top made from a wedding dress)

I started volunteering at a social enterprise eight months ago, a workplace where participants get the chance to follow a workfit program in an accessible and inclusive environment. Textile is one of the products they work with and make marketable products of. It's a really nice (work)place to be and contribute to.

Every now and then we get donations like leftover fabrics, old clothes, buttons, thread, yarn etc.. A while back, someone donated a beautiful wedding gown. I am always in awe of special fabrics like these and it makes me want to work with extra caution. I don't know the history of this gown, but it would be a shame for this fabric to only have been used once, wouldn't it?   

I wanted to turn it into a peplum top and it took some time to find a matching fabric for the peplum part, but I found it! 

I see leafs!

I chose a pattern I also used for a peplum top made from a pillow case a few years ago. The peplum has a box pleat in the front and 2 pleats in the back. 

I discovered an extra challenge in the form of a side seam of the top that had frayed (almost) too much. I couldn't really take in the seams, since the top is small, size S, but I'm pretty sure a drop of nail polish and some interfacing did the job. 

I've never particularly cared for ironing, but such a beautiful sleeve makes a sleeve board really show its use!

Le sleeve & le back

There's still some fabric left from the skirt, any ideas what to do with it? 

Hope you enjoyed this 'bridal' refashion! And you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com for more details. 

Until next time!

Vest/gilet upcycle embroidery: it's Sunday, relax!

 

Hi everyone! Those of you who've been following my refashion and upcycle projects probably know I like to throw in a a little embroidery every now and then. Well it's that time again!

The inspiration for this upcycle came from the book 'Close Knit' by the Danish Laerke Bagger. This inspiring book brings colourful knits to life with original ideas, modern and fun, and she makes use of leftover yarn. She is particularly encouraging to those who have tried before and given up in frustration: 'forget everything you've learned so far' (I have the Dutch version myself, so forgive my if didn't translate correctly). And yes, this is my honest and own opinion of the book which I bought myself:).

Browsing through the pages, I immediately fel for the funny font of 'Relax' and knew that it was the perfect way to upcycle my kind of boring vest/gilet! 

I chose a bright fuchsia pink as a counterpart to the dusty pink colour of the vest. It has a silver thread in it, which adds to the contrast. And it just so happened I recently dyed a pink second hand blouse in a matching colour!

I really enjoyed embroidering on this vest. When I finished I came up with another idea for embroiderment on the front! Feel free to look into that on vermaakster.blogspot.com. 

Enjoy your Sunday and relax!

Jeans bird (Blue titmouse) wall hanging

 

You may remember the jeans wall hanging I made of our cat Max earlier this year. I really had fun making it so I was keen on trying it again. And when saw this drawing of a blue titmouse, made by Dutch artist Katja Dupont, I could imagine it being transformed in jeans. 

Katja makes beautiful drawings of animals with a fineliner, so if you like the blue titmouse, you should definitely take a look at her website Ijzerhart.net. 

As you can see I used fraying on the chest, the tail and the crest. I finished the little bird with some embroidery, I stitched the bird's legs and snail with blue gradient thread and used black thread with a white french knot for the little eye. I was really happy how it turned out and... I'm very glad that Katja also appreciated the transformation of her drawing in jeans!

As always, you're very welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com 
if you're interested in more details. Until next time!

Quick fix for a low or high neckline

Hi everyone, hope you all had a great summer! (And if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, summer is coming:)). This time I'm sharing 2 quick fixes. The neckline of one of my older tops was rather low and a bit overstretched. It looks a bit sloppy and at a certain age, too much cleavage is overrated:). But I'm also not a big fan of high necklines, which is the issue of the second top. I definitely need more air in that area. So I'm tackling 2 tops, with different neckline issues.

If you have been following my posts, you may have noticed that I love quick fixes. I've had sewing lessons for years and years, but it doesn't seem to have changed my approach (limited effort, optimal effect). And yes, I've had the occasional frowns from the teachers. So maybe this post is for the like-minded creatives among you:).

To tackle the issue with the low stretched neckline, I stitched along the lower half of the neckline with elastic thread on the bobbin.

For the second issue, I gathered fabric at the center front and simply gave it a few stitches with my sewing machine.

No, not this one. I found this kitschy sewing machine on a vide grenier at the Opal coast in France this summer. You probably love it or hate it:)?

No whirrrrrs...

As you can see on the 'after' photos, the new neckline on the left is a bit smaller, due to the elastic. And on the right you can see the created v-neck on the purple shirt. Both jobs took me less than an hour and it was worth the effort!

If you're interested in more details (Dutch and English) and/or a small recap of my cycling holiday in France, you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com!

Asymetric top from (old) shirt and scarf

 

The weather has been really good here for weeks now. It's only may but it's like summer started early this year. But with the weather in the Netherlands you just never know, it may very wel rain throughout june and july. However the past sunny days inspired me for a (early) summer refashion: an asymetric top. I promise it's an easy one, if you're thinking of trying it yourself, it wil take you around 2 hours!

So here it goes...

Choose a t-shirt with enough stretch in the neckline elastic, because the first step is to pull the neckline over the shoulder, under the armpit. Then pin all the way down until from the neckline. Try to pin a straight line en let it blend fluently into the side seam. If you don't have a dress form you can place a few pins while wearing the shirt and finish pinning after you've taken it off (well, you cán try pinning it all if you want, but ouch....:))

Next, stitch along the pins with a large stitch size so you'll be able to gather the seam. Make sure the length of the gathered side is about the same as the length of the other side, measured from below the armpit to the hem. Satisfied with the length and fit? Then stitch the seam again en cut off the sleeve etc.   

You need a small open space in or under the necklline elastic to pull the scarf through. You can cut a hole if you want a easy solution, but I chose to open the seam between the neckline elastic and the shirt en made an 'eye' opening. To decide the exact spot, I recommend wearing the shirt and then pin where the bra comes out. 

And let's not forget the scarf! I was happy to find one that matched the color of the raspberry on my shirt. Found it on a small flea market nearby, the morning before I started this refashion, right on time!

Hope this sunny refashion inspired you to try it yourself! 

For a detailed explanation of all the steps, incl the gathering and how to make the 'eye', you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com. Until next time!

(too tight) Dress to maxi skirt

I bought this dress in a summer sale for €15, knowing that it wouldn't fit. It was a small S size, almost XS (nothing to do with me eating too much chocolate easter eggs:)) but I really loved the petrol colour. It may seem strange, but I saw potential: an affordable maxi skirt in a beautiful color. That was a challenge I couldn't resist:).

In case you were wondering... the tailor's dummy on the left is in my size and as you can see the dress really is too tight. On the right you see the beautifull back with gathered elastic. I wanted to reuse the top edge for the waistband. A quick solution with a complete elastic waistband wouldn't work since I wanted to keep using the buttons. 

After measuring the length of the skirt I cut off the top. Then I took off the edge of the top. The combination of elastic with a front hook and eye fastening was perfect for my new waistband. It was a little to long for my waist, so I would have to take it in.

The fastening at the front made it possible to keep using the buttons as you can see on the picture below. Unfortunately I hadn't realized that there could be too much strain/pressure on the hook and eye on the inside. I was afraid the fabric would tear. That's why I added another supporting band on the inside, also with a button-opening. 

Not one but two waistbands!

I may have underestimated creating a solid waistband, but I'm still happy with the result. Still loving the petrol colour!

If you're interested in the complete making off, and/or the unexpected tear I discovered (and how I fixed it), you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com. Until next time!

 

Visible mending jeans & sparkly upcycle

 

A few weeks ago I found these dark grey jeans in the clothing loop I'm part of. It was a great fit, but unfortunately the fabric was torn near the pockets. On both sides actually, would you believe that? 

Makes you think, right? Did the jeans belong to someone who likes to keep their hands in the pockets? All day? And of course it's a bit dubious that they wanted to pass on damaged jeans to another owner, but hey.... I wouldn't be having a new pair of grey jeans if it weren't for them. So I decided to take on this challenge and make it a visible 'not to be missed' mending!

I started with fortifying the tears

I used interfacing to fortify the fabric around the tears and made some zigzag stitches on the outside. Then I unstitched 2 pocket flaps from an old pair of jeans. I thought it would be nice to also add a flap on the back pocket. 

The pocket flaps definitely needed some sparkle of course! I found an old greyish black necklace with small stones. So after I sewed the pocket flap on, I hand stitched the chain on the flaps. 

The shimmering stones looked perfect on the flaps!

Sparkling front and back pockets

Last, but not least, I went on a weekend trip to Metz (France) last week and found the perfect jumper to combine the jeans with!  I visited a small friperie (second hand store) in the city centre (love the word 'friperie') and found this colourful jumper. And look and the brand name, Sucre Neige, so cute! 

What's the common English translation,
powdered sugar, icing sugar? 

🎄Happy holidays to you all!🎄

And if you're interested in more details, you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com!